


Meta on the Artemis Fowl Movie: The Problem of Holly

by Kitsune_Heart



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Feminism, Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2020-02-29 10:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18776335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_Heart/pseuds/Kitsune_Heart
Summary: Holly’s actress should have been a woman of color.Duh.





	1. The problem of an actress

**Author's Note:**

> I dance around a delicate topic, but one I really wanted to discuss. I will do my best to not offend and, should I fail, I'll gladly go back and correct things.

Holly’s actress should have been a woman of color.

Duh.

But, before I continue, I ask that readers please not direct any harassment towards Holly’s actress, Laura McDonnell. I can’t find firm numbers on her age, but she’s definitely not an adult and does not have the life experience to have considered the issues I’ll be discussing. Disney, though? Oh, they should have known better.

Now, of course, the most commonly discussed reason for Holly to be a woman of color is her portrayal in the books. The phrase “nut-brown” is used to describe Holly Short in chapter 3 of  _ Artemis Fowl _ . The  _ very first page _ she appears, and “nut-brown” is established. Now, I’ve come across posts debating that nuts come in a variety of shades of brown, and thus she could be on the pale side, like a cashew instead of, say, a chestnut, but Holly is further described, in  _ Eternity Code _ , as being “coffee-colored.” And, again, the argument is that Holly could still be pale, depending on how much milk you put in your coffee.

(As a quick note to writers, stop using food descriptors for skin color. It’s very bad form, your editor will get mad at you.)

But, you know what? My reasoning isn’t about following the books. Because, apparently, Disney said “fuck it” to the books. Commander Julius Root is being played by a woman, Dame Judi Dench (more on that later), Trouble Kelp is also being played by a woman, Chi-Lin Nim. The “Eurasian” Butler will be played by a Black British man, Nonso Anozie (a casting choice I actually quite approve of, that man looks like he could both annihilate ten armed assailants and also make you a perfectly fluffy omelette, which is  _ exactly as Butler should look).  _ And they have also created a completely new character, “Beechwood Short,” who seems most likely to be Holly Short’s almost-undiscussed father, which I’d guess leads to a “we both miss our dads” kind of character moment between Artemis and Holly.

Disney doesn’t feel the need to follow the books precisely. Even the plot seems to have been changed, with the awkwardly-worded descriptions on Wikipedia implying that Artemis suspects the People are involved in his father’s disappearance. I can’t fault Disney for making these changes. After all, the first book was released in 2001, and there needs to be some updating.

So. Holly’s actress needs to be a woman of color. Not because we are trying to be  _ on-model _ , but because Holly should  _ be a role model _ .

But we also need to change Holly because Holly’s struggle has changed, just as the struggle of women in the real world has changed. Or, more accurately, we have finally begun to acknowledge the struggles of  _ all _ women, and not just able-bodied, cisgender, straight white women.

Now, for a moment, I want to go back to Commander Root. To be sure, getting Dame Judi Dench on the cast is quite impressive. She probably won’t be the short-tempered, cigar-smoking, initially-unwoke but essentially good-hearted elf we know from the books. I think we should anticipate a character more like Dench’s portrayal of M from the Daniel Craig  _ James Bond _ films. Which would be amazing! Dame Judi Dench presented a woman of long-accumulated power, intellect, nerve, and ability. You knew M could kick ass just as well as Bond, and likely moreso back in her youth. That is exactly who Julius Root was.

But a “Julia” Root strips Holly of her significance.

What was Holly Short? She was the “test case.” The rule-breaker. Befriender of Mud Men and subject of the collective misogyny of the LEP. The first woman officer in LEPRecon, and that distinction was so controversial that, when she was held hostage by Artemis, there was serious debate over if it would be worth paying her ransom—even as a ruse—rather than allowing her to die in the blue rinse of Fowl Manor.

But, in the movie, Holly will be...just another woman officer. Her commander is a woman. The squad leader of the LEPRetrieval force put together to rescue Holly, Trouble Kelp, will be a woman. Honestly, I’m surprised Foaly isn’t a mare. And, honestly, these changes make  _ sense _ to me.

Even back in 2001, Colfer’s focus on sexism in the workforce was a bit out-of-date. Do not misunderstand, women in the workforce continue to face harassment, suppressed wages, withheld promotions, and daily microaggressions. But  _ many _ women were employed by police forces across the world—and certainly in Ireland, the People’s closest analog—in 2001. Colfer sought to handwave this odd narrative choice by portraying the People as a more misogynistic culture, but, really, besides the treatment of Holly, there’s not much there. 

In fact, look at some of the other fairy women in the series. Wing Commander Vinyaya is an elf woman who holds a military position of power,  _ alongside _ a seat in the Council, the People’s highest governing body, and is  _ also _ the head of the LEP equivalent of the CIA/MI6, and she has held these positions for  _ centuries _ before the books began. Opal faced misogyny, but, by the time the books begin, she’s already a powerhouse in the field of tech. Lili Frond may be called a “bimbo,” but she’s called that by Holly herself in a moment of rivalry, and Lili eventually develops into, quite literally, the voice of the LEP, being used as the base model for LEP equipment interfaces.

Even in Colfer’s own books, fairy women had made great strides by 2001. And the preponderance of powerful women in the 2020 movies reflects the rising numbers of women in workforces across the world. In the last two decades, even though women have had to fight for respect, power, and pay, they have advanced in leaps and bounds.

So long...as some women were left behind.

And here is the second reason I wish Holly’s actress was a woman of color: updating the second-wave feminism of Holly’s struggle against institutionalized misogyny to a third-wave feminism struggle, with the racial monoculture of the LEP finally letting in its first “minority” officer.

“So...you want the People to be...racist against minorities?”

No.

They already are.

And Colfer made them that way. It’s in the books. You’re just looking at it the wrong way. The prejudice of the People isn’t rooted in skin color.

It’s rooted in scales.

Holly’s actress should be a woman of color. And Holly should be half-goblin.


	2. The problem of goblins

A quote from one of the commenters on the last chapter, which I will jump off from:

_ “... in the narration it is stated multiple times ‘this isn't prejudice, the fact of the matter is, goblins are stupid and savage.” _

Yes. This is true. Colfer has said, many times, both explicitly in the narrative and implicitly in the actions of the (very few) goblins that do appear in the series, that goblins not only lack intelligence, but also that they are cruel and animalistic, even to the extent of nearly killing themselves in an effort to attack LEP officers (in book 3, when Haven goes into emergency shutdown). He never says that an LEP officer is a goblin (except a  _ tiny _ portion in  _ The Fowl Twins), _ and I can’t recall a single time a goblin appears in the series where they were anything but antagonistic. 

All this is indeed stated in the book. Goblins are stupid.

But why are they stupid?

Because of their tiny “lizard brains?”

That’s the narrative excuse, yes.

But there’s a simpler reason why goblins are deemed stupid.

Because Eoin Colfer  _ told us they are. _

Goblins don’t exist in the real world. It wasn’t like Colfer put a turkey into the books and said “oh, turkeys, they’re stupid,” and we all went “haha, oh yeah, turkeys are the stupidest.”

No. Colfer designated eight fairy families, and he said “and these guys? They’re dumb as hell, and also criminals.” And we all went “an entire race that’s just dumb criminals? Sure!”

I don’t think Colfer did this in some sort of veiled attempt at a racist caricature. But it’s what was unintentionally created. Never, at any point in the series, is a goblin given a chance at redemption. 

(Unless you count that little 1% of Lazuli Heitz, the newest character in the extended series, introduced in  _ The Fowl Twins _ . And while we could go into extended discussions of multi-racial identity, Lazuli’s goblin background is not cultural, but only genetic to the extent that it allows the  _ use _ of goblin firepower, with no other goblin attributes. And while I  _ love _ Lazuli _ ,  _ there is something very wrong about taking the one positive attribute of goblins--their special magic--and giving it to a fairy who is otherwise descended from two of the most positively-portrayed fairy races. Something very like cultural appropriation. All the benefits with none of the cultural background.)

Yes, as book readers, we were introduced to goblins as an ineffective villain race. Not even villains. Minions. But the Artemis Fowl movie? It is under  _ no obligation _ to keep them as such. Let’s not even  _ try _ to use “respecting canon” as an excuse, because the movie has already pissed all over canon by removing Holly’s central backstory of being the first female officer in LEPRecon. Canon means nothing. 

And that is  _ good _ . We get something new. Something exciting. We, as I said in the last chapter, move past the issue presented in the books (second-wave feminism), and into something that is more relevant, more resonant with today’s audiences.

The LEP’s lackluster efforts to rescue Holly won’t be merely that she’s a woman in a traditionally male unit, but that many officers who run across her in the halls would see her goblin attributes and automatically consider her a criminal. In fact, let’s see that! Holly, late for work, walks into Police Plaza without putting her uniform jacket on, and she is  _ immediately _ harassed by an officer who thinks she is an escaped suspect. And, even after being informed of their mistake, the officer would never apologize. If anything, they are incredulous, even downright hostile. (This could be a good way to introduce Briar Cudgeon.)

And Holly’s race would even work well in future movies.  _ Especially _ in  _ The Arctic Incident, _ when an actual gang of goblin criminals takes center stage.

Or, not the  _ center _ . Because they revolve around another person. A pretty young woman of brilliance and inherited privilege. Practically a minor royal! Opal Koboi, a little, cute,  _ harmless pixie.  _ One of the richest people in Haven (bringing in elements to criticize the super-rich). And, at her side, a corrupt police officer who blames Holly and, through her heritage, all goblins for his dismissal from the LEP.

Briar Cudgeon, whose downfall in book 2 is  _ already _ partially about his disdain for goblins and his intention to betray them. But, this time, after Cudgeon is exposed, let’s not have the goblins be merely incapacitated and arrested. They rebel  _ for themselves _ and assist Holly in stopping Koboi. The goblins actually have a  _ story arc _ in  _ The Arctic Incident _ , ending in redemption. The B'wa Kell goblins go to trial (because, well, they did try to overthrow the government) not as manipulated beasts, but as an organization full of  _ pride _ and  _ purpose. _

...and we don’t kill off a goblin at the beginning of book 4 for plot purposes!

Goblins don’t have to be “stupid.” They can be the victims of systematic oppression. Let them stop being a narrative device, and let them become social commentary. Which is still a narrative device, but at least it isn’t a  _ racist _ one.


	3. Holly Short: an introduction

Picture This:

We have had our intro to Artemis. He’s done his “I’m so brilliant” spiel. Set out the vague outline of his plans. Declared that he intends to find the fairies. “Fairies?” Butler says. “You know fairies aren’t real...right?” And Artemis smiles.

The camera pans down. Down and down, through the Earth’s crust, past water wells and subterranean passages and even the deepest of oil drills. And then darkness, broken only by the occasional odd electronic devices, beeping away, and where could those have come from? Until finally, the darkness of rock is replaced with the sudden brightness of a bustling city. Crowded, loud, full of...fairies. Text appears at the bottom of the screen, first in gnomish. Then blinking through to an English translation. “Haven: Population 10,231.”

The camera zooms through the streets, and we see snapshots of life in the city. And these snapshots would be very telling for the themes of the movie. Elves, pixies, sprites, gnomes, all walking about, eating at outdoor restaurants, laughing. The occasional police officer. And, subtly, the occasional officer yelling at a scaly creature.

We move to the center of the city, until we are presented with a large, well-lit building, surrounded by fairies. Police Plaza. Many officers--elves, pixies, sprites, gnomes--are walking up and down the steps, some escorting suspects. And most of those suspects, as you might guess, are goblins. Hissing, struggling,  _ muzzled _ . One tries to spout flames, but the muzzle sends them back in on himself, in a moment played for laughs, which, on second-viewing, is chilling.

At the edge of the screen, we see something from the start of book 2: protest signs held by goblin mothers, demanding their children be let go, or given lawyers, or that they at least get to see their mothers. They’re cordoned off, and the only fairies paying attention are in police clothing, including helmets, with visors pulled down.

The camera zooms through the doors and hallways of Police Plaza, past more suspects and officers, processing areas and break rooms, a cafeteria, officers, until we slow down in front of a slightly ajar door. The name “Commander J. Root” is stenciled on the glass. We hear voices from inside. Or, well, one voice.

“This is the third time this month! AH! No, mouth closed, Short; don’t insult me with your excuses! You know what the city center is like! Get up a few minutes earlier!”

A pause. A sigh. The energy from inside the room changes. We know this because the camera has snuck in through the gap in the door. We see a high-backed chair. Curls of smoke. A wide, messy desk. And our new Root, rubbing at her face.

“I know what you’re thinking,” says Root as the camera comes closer. “Why am I picking on you every day? Why don’t I ever bawl out those other layabouts?”

A little more smoke fills the air. While there is a cigar on the table, astute viewers will notice it is not lit.

“You know why,” Root says, as the camera begins a slow turn, the view obscured for a second by smoke, which begins to dissipate, finally giving us a view of the late officer.

Holly smiles. It shows a lot of teeth. It’s meant to be charming, but there is no mirth in her eyes. Eyes that aren’t slits, but aren’t...right. “Because I’m a girl?” she says, well aware of the irony of her statement, and perhaps also aware of the literary irony. Because, yes, she is a girl. A girl with dark skin...and a spattering of scales along her cheeks. There is something blunt about her nose, as if it really should be part of an elongated muzzle. Her shoulders and neck are armored in scales. When we first see her walking, we will note her digitigrade legs, the talons on her feet which will be hidden by her Recon boots once she’s sent out on a mission, only to be removed again when it’s time to both kick and slash some ass.

“Cute,” Root drawls. “Real cute, Short. You’re the first goblin in Recon—”

“Half-goblin,” Holly corrects. “My mother was an elf.” Mixed-race heritage is important. 

“Your mother was the finest healer we ever had in LEPMarine,” Root says, waving at the words and the dissipating smoke. “But you, Short? You’re a test case. There are millions of fairies out there watching your every move. There are a lot of hopes riding on you. But there is a lot of prejudice against you too. The future of law enforcement is in your hands. And at the moment,” Root whispers, leaning over her desk, looking straight into Holly’s golden eyes, “I’d say it was a little heavy.”

But for this new Holly? Maybe it’s not all that heavy. Because she’s learned to carry that burden already. And she’s got the extra firepower to handle things.

...and  _ damn _ , I would  _ love _ for Holly to add some literal firepower to her favorite Neutrino. Wouldn’t you?

**Author's Note:**

>  **Authors, please consider allowing others to podfic your works!** It's easy, and I'll help! It takes two steps:  
> 1) Add a blanket permisson statememnt to your profile. Something like (over even just copy-paste) this: "Blanket permission notice: Please feel free to make podfic, fanart, translations, or remixes of my work. Just make sure to attribute the original piece in AO3's "Association" section when posting, and send me a link so I can enjoy!""  
> 2) Add your profile link to the end of [ this spreadsheet.](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cvKiwJ0r4201NrreEtcVQVbSq8242o-W1SfuGpl1RhI/edit#gid=0)  
> 3) Your name will put on the [Fanworks Permission Statement List!](https://www.fpslist.org/)


End file.
